Sharapova, Federer into 4th round at Aussie Open

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Maria Sharapova recovered from the longest, hottest match of her career to beat Alize Cornet 6-1, 7-6 (6) Saturday and reach the fourth round of the Australian Open.

Aaron Favila

Maria Sharapova of Russia hits a forehand return to Alize Cornet of France during their third round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2014.(AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Maria Sharapova of Russia hits a forehand return to Alize Cornet of France during their third round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2014.(AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria, right, is congratulated by Milos Raonic of Canada at the net after he won their third round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2014.(AP Photo/Andrew Brownbill)

Andy Murray of BritaiN rushes for a return shot to Feliciano Lopez of Spain during their third round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2014.(AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

Sharapova's boyfriend, Grigor Dimitrov, progressed to the second week at a major for the first time when he converted his fifth match point to beat No. 11-seeded Milos Raonic of Canada 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (10).

The 22-year-old Bulgarian, considered one of the up-and-coming players on the men's tour, is starting to live up to expectations.

"First time for me to be in second week, so I guess I'll see you guys next week," the No. 22-seeded Dimitrov told the crowd at a packed Margaret Court Arena.

He has been sometimes referred to as the mini Roger Federer, due their similar styles and single-handed backhands. Even Federer, a 17-time Grand Slam winner, told a news conference after his 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 win over Teymuraz Gabashvili that everyone in the locker room was watching the Dimitrov-Raonic match.

Dimitrov will next play Roberto Bautista Agut, who followed his upset second-round win over No. 5 Juan Martin del Potro with a 6-2, 6-1, 6-4 third-round win over No. 27 Benoit Paire.

The Wimbledon champion, playing only his second tournament since minor back surgery in September, was only broken once in a 2-hour, 15-minute match and next faces Stefane Robert, a lucky loser from qualifying, who is into the fourth round for the first time after beating Martin Klizan.

Sharapova's third-round match was played in high humidity but in temperatures of about 22 Celsius (72 Fahrenheit), considerably cooler than the scorching 42 C (108 F) conditions she endured for 3 hours, 28 minutes in her second-round win over Karin Knapp two days previously.

Again, though, Sharapova struggled to close out. She took 50 minutes between her first and last match points against Knapp, and needed almost a half-hour to finish off Cornet — she missed a match point with a wayward backhand on the Frenchwoman's serve and then got broken twice while trying to serve out.

In the subsequent match on Rod Laver Arena, Federer produced a routine win to follow his detour to Hisense Arena in the second round.

He is seeded sixth at this Australian Open, his lowest seeding in more than a decade, after a year in which he didn't reach a Grand Slam final for the first time since 2002. His wife, Mirka, and their twin daughters were in the arena watching against Gabashvili. The couple is expecting another child later in the year, something Federer sees as a good omen.

"The last time (Mirka) was pregnant I played fairly well, won the French and Wimbledon," he said, in reference to 2009. "So lots of pressure there."

Sharapova is slowly finding her groove in her second tournament back after a prolonged break for a right shoulder injury. She had six double-faults and 29 of her total 35 unforced errors in the second set after breezing through the first against Cornet.

"After the last match I'm just happy to get through this," Sharapova said. "Definitely need to step it up."

Sharapova will next play Dominika Cibulkova, who beat No. 16 Carla Suarez Navarro 6-1, 6-0 in 59 minutes. Suarez Navarro was clearly still fatigued from her second-round match in the extreme heat.

"I finished the last match with pain. I tried to recover yesterday but it was not possible to play good today," she said. "When you play with these players at this level, you need to be 90 percent perfect or 100 percent perfect."

Former No. 1-ranked Jelena Jankovic had a 6-4,7-5 win over Kurumi Nara, her third consecutive victory over a Japanese player, to set up a fourth-round match against No. 11 Simona Halep, who advanced with a 6-1, 6-4 over qualifier Zarina Diyas.

Fifth-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska had a 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 over No. 29 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and will next play Garbine Muguruza of Spain, who beat former No. 1-ranked Caroline Wozniacki 4-6, 7-5, 6-3.

No. 13 Sloane Stephens, who had an upset win over Serena Williams in the quarterfinals here last year, reached the fourth round at a fifth consecutive major with a 7-5, 6-4 win over Elina Svitolina of Ukraine. She will play either two-time defending champion Victoria Azarenka or Yvonne Meusburger in the next round.